Existence of Alfvén-cyclotron waves in solar wind turbulence as identified from the angular distribution of magnetic helicity

Details Existence of Alfvén-cyclotron waves in solar wind turbulence as identified from the angular distribution of magnetic helicity Existence of Alfvén-cyclotron waves in solar wind turbulence as identified from the angular distribution of magnetic helicity

Dec 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufmsh43d..07h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #SH43D-07

Physics

Plasma Physics

[7863] Space Plasma Physics / Turbulence

Scientific paper

The fluctuating magnetic helicity is a helpful mean for diagnosing the wave characteristics in solar wind turbulence. However, the signature of the Alfvén-cyclotron wave has not yet been revealed from magnetic helicity, due to the limitations of the methods used previously. We propose a new method to study the magnetic helicity, σ_m, which is now considered as a function not only of the frequency (f) but also the angle (Θ_VB) between the solar wind velocity and local mean magnetic field B_0. We apply this method to STEREO measurements of solar wind turbulence in both the magnetic-field outward sectors and inward sectors. As a result, we find the following remarkable features of the σ_m distributions. In outward sectors, σ_m<0 for f∈[0.1,1.0]Hz and Θ_VB<30, and σ_m>0 for f∈[0.1,1.0]Hz and 30<Θ_VB<150. In inward sectors, σ_m>0 for f∈[0.1,1.0]Hz and Θ_VB>150, and σ_m<0 for f∈[0.1,1.0]Hz and 30<Θ_VB<150. These new findings indicate the existence of Alfvén-cyclotron waves propagating quasi-parallel or anti-parallel to B_0, besides the possible existence of kinetic-Alfvén or whistler waves propagating obliquely to B_0. Therefore, we suggest that the Alfvén-cyclotron wave, together with other wave modes, plays a crucial role in turbulence cascading and heating of the solar wind.

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